


Reminders of the Past

by EnchantedApril



Series: A Superlative Life [4]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Dubious Consent, F/F, high school hell, nothing graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-20 00:05:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7382971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnchantedApril/pseuds/EnchantedApril
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a new employee at CatCo is an old boyfriend of Kara's, neither of them are happy about it, but Cat is out for blood after she hears how he treated her fiancée.  Superpowers can protect against open assaults, but not against manipulation and the  naïveté of a girl trying to be "normal".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kara Danvers walked down the hallway to her office with a noticeable bounce in her step. Granted it was only eight-thirty in the morning, but so far her day was going perfectly. She had left for the office before Cat - on "special assignment" as they called it - but the trouble had been quickly managed by Supergirl, and she had wound up arriving at the office just as her fiancee's car had pulled up. They had ridden up in the elevator together, and Cat had even presented her with a perfectly made latte of her own. Such gestures were no longer uncommon, but they still brought a smile to the younger woman's face. A quick kiss before the doors had opened on their floor, had Kara feeling like the day was definitely going to be a good one.

Her office wasn't too far down the hallway, and she was taking her first sip of coffee when she turned to enter it, coming up short when she saw that someone was already standing in front of her desk. She wasn't in the habit of closing her door, but no one had ever entered uninvited, and she looked at the back of the man standing there and cleared her throat quietly before speaking.

"Excuse me? I think you might have the wrong office. I don't think I have any appointments until later in the day," she said politely.

The man turned around, smile already stretched across his face, seemingly oblivious to the sudden tightness around Kara's features and the way she gripped her cup a bit tighter.

"Kara Danvers! Well, I won't say you haven't changed a bit, because you definitely have. You were always an adorable little thing, but now - well, National City must agree with you," he said with more joviality than strictly necessary.

"Tim Barrows?" Kara said it as a question, but she knew she wasn't wrong.

"I knew you'd remember me," he replied, stepping up to her and relieving her of her coffee. He put it on her desk and used her now free hand to twirl her around as if sizing her up.

He didn't release it after she came to a stop facing him again, and Kara wanted to snatch it back but couldn't quite make herself do so, instead allowing to to lie limply in his strong grasp.

"Um, Whe - when did you start working here?"

"Just last week," Tim replied. "I'm down in sales and marketing, but when I saw your name in the directory, well I just had to come up and see you. We had some good times, right?"

"Right, right, we did," Kara said, with forced brightness. "Good times, but right now I should really - " she tried to extricate herself from the situation but was abruptly interrupted by someone else entering her office.

"Kara, did you see - " Cat had been looking down at her phone, and she brought herself up short when she looked up and saw that she and Kara weren't alone. "Hmm," she said appraisingly. "Well, are you going to introduce me?"

"Yes! Yes, of course," Kara said in a rush, using the excuse to pull her hand back where she instantly rubbed it against her hip before using it to motion between Cat and Tim. "Ms Grant, this is Tim Barrow. Tim, Ms Cat Grant," she said quickly. "Tim and I went to school together back in Midvale. Now he's working down in sales and marketing. I had no idea he'd started working here, but he noticed my name and popped up to say hello."

Cat looked moderately more interested, raising one brow as a silent request for more information.

"Kara and I dated my senior year. I was her first boyfriend, as a matter of fact." Tim said, sounding inordinately proud of the fact.

"Is that so?" Cat said, eyes narrowing even as her voice managed to sound bored.

"Yes, we went to prom together and everything." He turned to Kara then, "I bet I still have that picture somewhere, how about you?"

"Um, yes, maybe, somewhere," she said, while knowing full well that she had burned it mere weeks after that dance.

"Well, all this catching up is just fascinating, but if you don't mind, Tom, was it?"

"Tim, actually."

"Right," Cat said, clearly ignoring home, "Well, Tom, Ms Danvers and I have some actual work to do, so maybe you could go back to your own floor now, hmm?"

Tim looked slightly irritated, but was smart enough to agree that he had things he needed to do as well.

"I'll see you again, soon, right Kara?" he said as he walked out the door.

"Sure, yeah, we'll catch up," Kara said half-heartedly before heaving a huge sigh of relief when only she and Cat remained in the office.

Cat hadn't liked anything about that little exchange, but she particularly didn't like the way Kara's complexion had alternated between too pale and too flushed, and she didn't like the sense of relief now rolling off of her in palpable waves.

"My office?" it was a request, not a demand, because they had long since moved past those roles.

But Kara, knowing that Cat wouldn't rest until she knew what was going on, merely nodded before falling into step with the older woman as they walked back down the hall, through the bullpen and into that familiar glass-walled sanctum.

Once there, Kara stood, not exactly sure what to say, until Cat broke the ice with one of her usual pointed remarks.

"Well, don't just stand there wringing your hands, sit down and tell me what that oaf was doing in your office. Because you didn't exactly look thrilled to walk down memory lane."

Kara took a few moments to gather herself before looking at Cat and then out at all the desks surrounding the office.

"Do you think we could go out on the balcony to talk?"

The request startled Cat as much as it bothered her. For Kara to want more private meant that this was more serious than she had assumed, and it automatically made all of her own finely honed defenses pop up.

"Of course," she said, motioning for Kara to lead the way.

"So I assume you didn't bother to mention you're engaged," Cat said pointedly as the two women stepped onto the balcony.

Kara rounded on her and her eyes flashed for a moment.

"I told you, that's the first time I'd seen him here. We were only talking for two minutes before you came in. So no, I'm sorry, that wasn't the first thing I said to him. This isn't about you, Cat, not everything is about you!"

Kara instantly looked shocked by what she'd said, shaking her head and clutching her arms around her middle.

"I - I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," she said sorrowfully.

"Yes you did," Cat said, guiding Kara to the sofa, "and you're right. I shouldn't have tried to insert my own insecurities into something that obviously upset you."

Kara sat heavily onto the sofa and pressed herself into the corner cushions, pulling one onto her lap. Usually she would cuddle into Cat's side, and her actions now only made Cat more eager to fire the idiot man from sales. She watched as Kara traced a pattern on the pillow she was holding and scooted herself slightly closer. Close enough for Kara to touch if she reached out. These sensitive serious talks were not something she felt at all adept at but she wasn't about to let Kara continue to dwell on whatever was bothering her.

"Do you - " she began, but was cut off when Kara started to talk.

"When I'd been on Earth for about a year, one of the popular girls in my class told me that a bunch of them were gathering at a rocky inlet at one end of the beach," she said, staring down at her hands. "It was sort of a cave carved into the cliffs by the waves, and you could only get to it at low tide," she continued with a long sigh.

"I'm guessing no one else showed up," Cat said, her own hands clenched into fists on her lap.

Kara shook her head.

"The tide came in and I'd promised not to fly or use any other powers, so I was stuck there all night, shivering on the one rock that didn't get completely covered by the water."

"Remind me to have you point her out to me at your next reunion," Cat said grimly.

Kara let a wry little smile tilt up one corner of her mouth.

"Don't worry. Alex already beat you to it. She decked her the next day, and my foster parents had some pretty strong words with her parents."

Cat chuckled a little, picturing Alex laying out the horrible mean girl with one well-aimed punch. She looked up at Kara thoughtfully.

"Darling, I'm glad you shared that with me, despite how furious it makes me, but it doesn't explain why you're upset now. Did seeing an old classmate just bring back bad memories?"

"No, I just wanted you to understand that even after spending time on Earth, I was still totally naive when it came to social situations. I don't want you to think that I was just... I don't know... Stupid? Careless?" Kara huffed out a breath and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes, leaning back and then staring out over the city.

"Kara, while I have admittedly called you too trusting and yes, a little naive, I would never blame you for what other people did to you, especially when you were only a child," Cat felt honestly hurt to think that she hadn't properly demonstrated her unwavering support for the woman beside her after all their time together as a couple, and made a mental note to 'do better', as Alex would say.

"Well, anyway, after that episode, I must have watched like every teen movie ever made, and read hundreds of horribly written books for adolescents, and watched hours of bad sitcoms. So by the time I was a junior in high school, I thought I was pretty good. I mean, normal - as normal as I could be, anyway," she said with a shrug.

"Normal is vastly overrated," Cat interjected, but then motioned for Kara to continue.

"Tim was in Alex's class, and she actually introduced us. They were in track and field together and he seemed like a good guy. I mean, he was a good guy."

"You liked him?" Cat asked quietly.

"I guess so? I think so. I think I liked the idea of him more than the actuality, but I loved feeling more normal. Going on dates, hanging out with a group of friends. It was nice."

"You deserved to be happy, Kara. I'm guessing the breakup didn't go well?"

Kara didn't answer, but continued her story.

"He asked me to the senior prom, and Alex was going, so Eliza said I could go too, and I was so excited. I mean I'd been studying "prom" for like four years with all those books and movies. I had a gorgeous dress and it reminded me of the formal balls back on Krypton, and Tim was sweet and we had a great time, but then we decided to go to one of the after parties."

"You mean a booze-filled chaos rave at the home of some unsuspecting out-of-town parents?"

"Something like that," Kara agreed regretfully. "Alex was there, but she was drinking and, well, I don't think she even noticed when Tim and I went upstairs. It was just like in one of my books. I mean, that's what was supposed to happen, I thought."

"Kara..." Cat said, eyes widening as she feared where this story was going.

"He was sweet and just kept telling me that's what everyone was doing, and I just didn't know what else to do," the younger woman said helplessly. "It's not like I said no, or tried to leave. I tried to convince him to go back downstairs, to tell him I needed to find Alex - I mean she'd know what I should do, right? - but he was just so insistent, and he said he'd taken me on all those dates and bought me flowers and defended me when other kids told him to ditch me, and I just... I just..." she looked over at Cat, eyes wide and liquid, and Cat didn't know what to do for her, but then she kept talking, "He didn't hurt me or anything - Pffft, like anything could - but I didn't enjoy it and then it was just over and we went back and I found Alex and then we all crashed on the floor for the night."

Kara wasn't looking at Cat anymore, she was back to staring at her hands. Cat held herself back from pulling her into a loving embrace, because she felt there was more Kara wanted to tell her.

"Did you tell Alex what happened?" she asked gently.

"No," Kara said as she shook her head. "And then graduation came up fast and Tim and I drifted apart even faster. It didn't happen again or anything. It bothered me most I think because it wasn't like those books. It didn't become some treasured memory for me. It just made me feel sort of helpless when I thought about it. But I figured that was because I wasn't human, not really, but at least I was acting normally and doing normal things," she said as she let out a long sigh as if she'd been holding that in for years, and maybe she had been. "A couple of months later, Alex was talking to me late at night, before she left for college, and she said how she'd broken up with her boyfriend. He'd been pressuring her to sleep with him and when he wouldn't let up, she told him to take a hike if all he wanted was someone who would 'put out'. And when I asked her what that meant, that's when I knew that what happened wasn't really just some rite of passage that everyone went through on Earth."

"No, it's not, darling," Cat said slowly. "Did you tell her then?" she asked, hoping to hear that the story ended with Alex kneeing the guy in the crotch and shoving his face into the ground.

"I couldn't," Kara whispered. "She would have felt so guilty. So horrible. And it wouldn't have fixed anything anyway."

A minute passed in silence, and then another and finally Cat cleared her throat and asked, "Would you mind if I held you now?"

That was all it took for Kara to press herself into Cat's side and practically melt into the other woman as strong thin arms wrapped tightly around her body.

"I will call and have termination papers drawn up as soon as we go back inside," Cat said after long minutes of soothing her younger fiancée.

Kara tilted her head up from where it lay on Cat's shoulder and said, "You can't do that, Cat. It was years ago, it has nothing to do with his job, and he didn't really do anything wrong."

"He was a manipulative prick who took advantage of a young and vulnerable girl," Cat said hotly. "And now he's back sniffing around you like an oversexed dog. Do NOT make excuses for him," Cat said angrily, "And do NOT belittle your own feelings!"

She watched the startled expression wash across Kara's face and was instantly ashamed.

"I'm sorry, Kara," she said, pulling her close again, "I'm angry at him, not you, and I'm angry at anyone or anything that made you feel like you had to go along with him and ignore your better instincts, and then, to top it off, hide all of it away with no one to confide in."

"I understand," Kara murmured. "I'm not going to say he's a great guy or something, but he was only seventeen years old and a stupid thoughtless kid himself and it's not like he knew I was an alien with limited knowledge about teen sex - or sex in general. After I agreed to sleep with him, I never gave him any indication that I wasn't enjoying myself."

"I seriously doubt he was paying much attention after he convinced you to take off your clothes," Cat said bitterly. "He pressured you into agreeing, he knew you were young and inexperienced, and he took what he wanted from you."

"None of which is grounds for termination."

"This is a right to work state and I could fire him for picking his nose."

"Cat. Please," Kara said, holding tightly and snuggling in again. "I am glad that you made me talk to you, but it was a long time ago and I will keep my distance and I will make sure he keeps his distance. I'm sure he's a perfectly nice guy."

Cat was not so inclined to believe that, but in the interests of keeping Kara happy, she agreed to leave him alone. That didn't mean she wouldn't call Alex and have her do an in depth background check on the man she now considered her personal enemy.


	2. Chapter 2

Cat was actually quite proud of herself. She managed to go two entire days before calling Alex. 

She had promised to let Kara deal with Tim Barrows at work, and while her instincts had been to contact Alex immediately after Kara went back to her office that fateful morning, she had held off. She had held off because Kara seemed to want to put the whole thing behind her, and she didn't want to further upset her by involving her sister and possibly making things worse than they needed to be. Perhaps Kara was right, after all, and Tom, Ted, Tim had moved on from high school immaturity and grown to be a more respectful, sensitive and upright citizen. Perhaps.

On the other hand, perhaps he had kept up the egotistical, narcissistic act, with a string of inexperienced girls in his wake and his eyes back on Kara after almost a decade.

In any event, Cat's own instant dislike of the man wasn't what made her eventually pick up the phone. It was Kara. The younger woman had practically turned her office into her own little fortress of solitude. She never kept her door open any more. She rarely visited her friends and co-workers in the bullpen. She hardly even ventured to Cat's office, unless specifically invited. Kara had brushed off subtle inquiries about her change in behavior by saying that she was still settling into her position and had a lot of work to do. Never mind that she'd been doing a stellar job for the past four months. No, it was clear to Cat that her fiancée was exiling herself in order to avoid any possible run-ins with the prick from sales, as she called him.

It was unacceptable, and if Kara wouldn't let her just fire him out of hand, then she needed a reason and Alex was the best person to dig up that reason. She wasn't sure how she would tap-dance around revealing too much of what Kara had told her, and she knew it wouldn't be pleasant if she wasn't successful, but it had to be done.

Alex picked up on the second ring, and apparently she knew who was calling.

"Cat, you know I love Kara, but I am not wearing that girly floral sundress for you wedding, so you can just hang up if she pestered you to call me."

Cat blinked a few times as her mind caught up with Alex's words. She would have been happy with a couple of witnesses and a justice of the peace at the city hall, but she'd known that Kara had a slightly different vision and so they were planning something still small, but special, beside the ocean at her beach house. She hadn't realized that Kara had gotten as far as looking at bridesmaid dresses since the tentative date was still almost a year away. Instead of being unpleasantly shocked, she felt her heart softening into a puddle. All the more reason to be calling Alex Danvers.

Finally she answered Alex, saying, "No, as keen as I am to get involved in sisterly squabbles, that is not my reason for calling."

Alex seemed to relax some when she realized she wasn't in for an argument.

"Oh, okay, great. Then what's up? And don't tell me you're backing out of our Catan rematch next week."

"It's actually of a more professional matter. I have a relative new hire here and I'd like you to run a thorough background check on him," Cat said as she idly picked up her favorite pen and began tapping it against a stack of proofs.

"You suspect he's a hostile alien?" Alex asked, sounding slightly confused.

"No, I'm relatively certain that he's a run of the mill human."

"Ooookay. Um. You realize that's not really what we do here, right? It might be considered a frivolous use of resources. Didn't your company vet him before he was hired?"

"Yes, of course, he passed the standard checks, but I'm looking for more. Not necessarily criminal, just an overview of any less savory, but not illegal, behavior."

"So you're trying to find out if the guy is a royal scumbag. Again, that's really not - "

"I know it's not," Cat cut off Alex's explanation, "but it just so happens that you know this individual so I thought you might have some insight on where to dig."

"I know the guy? Who is it? What's this really about? If he's bothering you, can't you just fire him?"

Cat let out a sigh, wishing that this was going smoother and with substantially fewer questions.

"His name's Tim Barrows. Apparently he went to high school with you and Kara."

"Tim? Really? I mean I didn't keep in touch with him, but he was harmless enough. A little overbearing sometimes, and man did he have it bad for Kara, but he was always pretty much on the straight and narrow."

"Yes, Kara has told me a little about him, so I'm aware of how he appears," Cat replied, eyes narrowing as she thought about the little prick and how she would like to slap his smug smile off his smug face.

"Cat?" Alex sounded more concerned now. "What's going on with him? He doesn't suspect anything about Kara, does he?"

"No, no I seriously doubt that," Cat said, thinking that he would probably have been substantially less likely to take advantage of Kara if he'd known she could literally rip his penis off and shove it down his throat.

"I'd really rather not go into a lot of detail," Cat told her. "Suffice it to say that he has been making Kara uncomfortable but she refuses to let me fire him without good cause. That's where you come in."

"He makes her uncomfortable? She could toss him into orbit and he makes her uncomfortable? They dated for crying out loud! Wait, is this just you being jealous? Because trust me, that was not a serious relationship. We double dated and I don't think I ever saw him do more than give her a peck on the lips."

"I am not jealous!" Cat said hotly, and she desperately wanted to just tell Alex everything, but she couldn't betray Kara's confidence anymore than she already was, so she bit her tongue and clamped her jaw shut.

"Fine, whatever you say, Cat. They were only together for a month or two and I was there for half of their dates. Hell, I set them up and besides talking more than a used car salesman, he was totally harmless."

It was all Cat could do to keep from blurting out everything, but she just swore under her breath before telling Alex, "Be that as it may, his presence at the office is bothering her now, and I would love an excuse to send him on his way."

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds.

"There's more to this than you're telling me, isn't there?" Alex said, more statement than question.

"I'm really not comfortable talking to you about this," Cat answered, pulling on her professional persona like a comfortable sweater.

"Well too damn bad! You started this, so now you get to finish it."

Alex listened to the older woman sigh, and then a solid minute of deep breathing. She was sure that the next sound she heard would be a dial tone.

"Alex, I've already said more than I should."

"Cat, please," Alex whispered, beginning to feel truly worried for her sister.

"You know better than most that high school wasn't exactly kind to her," Cat said, neatly side-stepping the truth. "I think he just brings back unpleasant memories."

Cat wondered what Alex was thinking about as silence stretched between them.

"I wasn't the best sister I could have been those first few years," she admitted. "I tried to make up for it but..."

"I think we both know that Kara doesn't like to feel like she is burdening anyone," Cat replied. "It's not your fault, that you were a less-than-perfect teenager, Alex."

Alex cleared her throat, and Cat knew the other woman must be close to tears.

"Yeah, that's not really assuaging my guilt," she said with a humorless laugh.

Cat knew that nothing she said would make Alex feel better.

"So," she said, after a moment to let Alex's mind settle, "you'll do a search on the guy?"

The steel in Alex's voice almost sent a shiver down Cat's spine, and it wasn't even directed at her.

"If he's bothering Kara, I will find every hidden secret that asshole ever thought he could bury from the time he was in grade school until now."

Cat let out a relieved breath.

"Thank you, Alex."

"I'll call you in the next couple of days," Alex replied, and then ended the call.

She and Cat were never big on touchy-feely social niceties, so the abrupt hang up didn't phase the older woman. She set down her phone and glanced into the bullpen. Normally Kara might be flittering around asking for opinions, checking in on friends or dropping off bags of M&M's with Cat's new assistant. The blonde was no where in sight and Cat leaned back in her chair and tried to ignore how much she missed just seeing her fiancée like that throughout the day. She had a media empire to run, and for now it required her full attention.


	3. Chapter 3

The clouds hung low over National City, thick and filled with moisture just waiting to fall as rain over the streets and skyscrapers. It had been a while since a good rain had fallen on the city and this promised to be a storm.

Kara flew just below the clouds, little puffs dipping into her path and touching her with water droplets as she passed. She was making a tour of the city ahead of the storm. It wasn't something she usually did, but for some reason she had felt compelled to make sure that all was well. A few minor incidents caught her attention, and her help was gratefully received. Even though the Red Kryptonite exposure had been nearly a year ago, Kara still felt relieved when she was welcomed by the people of her city rather than feared.

A final sweep of the outskirts completed, she darted upwards and punched through the ceiling of grey and up, up to where the sky was blue again, sun shining down and illuminating the tops of those same clouds a shimmering white. A long breath and then a smile curved her lips as she turned her face to the light and floated easily on the light current.

The smile faded somewhat as she contemplated the fact that it wasn't just some unknown reason that had inspired her on her pre-storm flight. It had been a welcome excuse to leave the office and remind herself that she was living the life she was always meant to have on Earth, with purpose and integrity.

It was something she had been reminding herself of often over the previous two days.

Only two days since memories she hadn't dwelled upon for years were shoved to the forefront of her mind. It angered and upset her in equal measure. At the time it had felt like yet one more in a series of mistakes made by a girl who couldn't seem to pull herself together. Then, as she'd gained some insight, she had remembered it, when she thought of it at all, with twinges of humiliation, embarrassed that she hadn't been smarter.

She had only thought of Tim Burrows once since the start of her relationship with Cat. It had been the morning after the first time they had slept together. She had woken first, and had laid in bed, stroking Cat's hair and marveling at the fact that she finally understood what it was supposed to feel like. That was when she had felt sorrow over the fact that her first experience with something so precious had been clumsy, rushed and emotionally empty.

Seeing him in person, grown but still with the shadow of the boy he had been in his features, had been mildly embarrassing and uncomfortable. Thinking of that night again, had been more upsetting. The idea of him attempting to strike up a friendship or, God forbid, a relationship? That was what had her holing up in her office and making unnecessary forays into stormy weather. She knew, intellectually, that she would have precisely zero problem warding off any physically advances, but it was the mental assaults that she felt less equipped to deal with.

And yet, she admitted as she righted herself and shifted trajectory back towards CatCo, avoiding him didn't seem to be working very well for her either.

As the CatCo building loomed large, Kara started to head towards the roof, her usual landing spot. But then she saw Cat standing on her balcony and watching the rain as it just started to fall, and she curved her body downwards again and then twisted in mid-air to float effortlessly over the balcony railing, landing with a solid, and slightly damp sounding, thump.

Cat glanced over a her and smiled.

"Is there any use in me telling you to get out of those wet clothes before you become ill?"

Kara smirked and spun herself tightly, coming to a stop fully dressed in her 'day clothes', cape and boots dangling from her two hands.

"Show off," Cat quipped, and it was something she had said many times, a private joke between them that never lost it's sentimental appeal.

"You know you love watching me do that," Kara said, stowing the parts of her costume in a lidded bench in the corner before moving to stand beside Cat, bumping her hip and wrapping a careful arm around her waist.

"Correction," Cat told her, "I love watching you when you're acting like you own the place. Confidence is sexy, you know."

Kara's smile faltered just a bit and she murmured, "I guess my confidence hasn't been great the last couple of days."

Cat had just been acting playful, and she was dismayed that Kara took her words so to heart.

"You know that isn't what I meant, dear."

Kara tugged her just a tiny bit closer as the pattering raindrops became more of a torrent.

"Maybe not, but what I said is true. And I'm sorry. I told you not to fire him. I told you I'd handle it. But I'm not really handling anything, I'm just avoiding it."

"Kara, it's been two days. You needed time to work through what you're feeling. It's clear that you never got a chance back then, or maybe the seriousness of what happened never hit you until you started thinking about it again, thanks to him. Two days is not too much for you to ask for or need."

Kara turned her head just slightly and glanced down at Cat, meeting her eyes briefly.

"Is that why you called Alex?"

Widening eyes and a sharp intake of breath were the only outward signs of a very internal feeling of panic. The last thing Cat wanted was for Kara to think she was going behind her back. Well, technically, she was, but not in the way the younger woman might think.

"I only called her to get her to do a better background check on our Mr. Barrows," Cat rushed to say. "I did mention that you weren't happy about him being here, but I didn't tell her anything else. I wouldn't betray your trust, Kara."

A soft kiss to the top of her head was the first response she got from Kara.

Then the younger woman said, "I think we both know that isn't exactly true. If you thought it would help me, I think you would probably do everything in your power, even if it meant sharing things I've only told you."

Cat opened her mouth to protest, but Kara cut her off with a slender finger placed in front of her lips.

"I knew that a long time ago, Cat. And I accept it. I don't think you'd reveal anything frivolously and I know you wouldn't do it to hurt me."

"You are far more understanding than I would be if our roles were reversed," Cat said quietly.

"Yes, I know that too, which is a good reason why they aren't."

Cat leaned into Kara, feeling relieved.

"I'm going to guess that Alex tried to weasel every detail out of you."

"You know your sister well," Cat replied, "but I'm being totally honest when I tell you that I kept any and all details to myself."

"Then you're way better at dealing with the ol' sister guilt than I am," Kara said with a soft chuckle. Usually she just has to start with a "I'm your sister and I just want to protect you," and then throw in a sniffle and I crumple like a wet paper towel."

Cat pushed back from the balcony railing and faced Kara with her hands on her hips.

"You mean that's all an act? The whole choked up tough-girl pleading?" She muttered under her breath, "That little rat."

This time Kara laughed full and loud.

"No, no, I'm sure the emotion was there, but let's just say that she really knows how to milk it. I'm gonna say that's something she learned at the DEO, because she was never THAT good at it when we were younger."

"Well, I will take some comfort in that."

Cat reached out and pulled Kara over to the seating area, gently pushing her down before neatly curling up on her lap. It was a little move that was completely unexpected and so of course it instantly brought a blush and a warm feeling of belonging to Kara who immediately wrapped her arms around the smaller woman.

"Now," Cat said, having gotten Kara into a position she couldn't immediately run from. "Are you going to let me fire him now?"

"Cat," the name was drawn out and it was clear the response was not going to be agreeable. "I will go down and talk to him and I think that will be the end of it. Really all of this," she motioned vaguely, "has been my own doing. He hasn't come up to see me again. He's just emailed me a few times asking to have coffee or to meet and catch up."

"Apparently he missed the 'get lost' vibes that were coming off of you when I saw the two of you in your office."

"Yeah, well, he's admittedly clueless."

"Fine," Cat said, leaning forward to place a chaste kiss on soft lips. "I will hold off for now. Take whatever time you need to talk to him. But just remember that I'm here if you need me." That last was said very softly, and Kara wondered if Cat thought that she didn't already know that or believe it.

"You have always been my biggest cheerleader," Kara whispered into Cat's ear.

Cat's smile in response was wide and genuine.

"And your biggest critic," she teased.

"That was only because you already loved me and were trying to be extra unbiased and objective to keep me from figuring it out."

Cat laughed and slipped off Kara's lap, brushing the wrinkles out of her skirt as she stood.

"That's what you think, is it?"

Kara just looked at her and raised one eyebrow and Cat huffed out a breath.

"Fine, it's possible I was determined not to let my personal feelings interfere with my reporting, but that does not mean that my criticism was unfounded."

"Duly noted," Kara said, rising and giving Cat a kiss on the cheek, "and you know that your words only made me better."

"Of course they did," Cat said airily, "I always give excellent advice."

The two women walked back inside as the rain continued to fall on the city, and Cat surreptitiously gave Kara's hand a little squeeze before pulling back and walking behind her desk.

"So I should expect to see you out and about around the office from now on?" she asked gently.

Kara took in a deep breath, the scent of the rain, and Cat's perfume relaxing her.

"Yes," she said with a smile, "I think I'm done being the office recluse."

"Excellent. Not that I missed you, mind," Cat said in her usual offhanded way, "but we can't have people thinking I have you chained up in some windowless office, now can we?"

Kara had the grace to blush, and Cat cast a decidedly lascivious gaze upon her before turning to the edits on her desk and only looking up again once Kara had left the office. She smiled as she saw her fiancée stop at Winn's desk, and hoped, for her sake, that all suspicions about Tim Barrows turned out to be without merit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex finds out... Tim had better find a hole to hide in...

When Kara received a text from Alex, asking to join her for lunch, she was not the slightest bit surprised. In fact she had been expecting something like that, with the only question being if the text would invite her for lunch or dinner.

She quickly texted back that she would meet her at Noonan's. She had planned to go down and talk to Tim before lunch, but decided that she could put it off for another couple of hours. He had actually sent her an email inviting her to lunch, and a little digging had told her that he was recently divorced, with no children, which made her suspect that he really was trying to somehow "rekindle" something that had never existed to begin with.

A burst of super speed let her catch up with the work she had neglected when she'd been soaring above the city. Then she was able to relax into her normal routine, scanning small local news outlets, police blotters and other sources for stories about ordinary people helping in extraordinary ways. Reporting on such stories, and directing attention, and when possible funds, towards them was the core of her new position as head of a special projects group that she had pitched to Cat after a month of solid research. It was a job that gave her almost as much satisfaction as flying to the rescue in her red cape, and sometimes even more. It was definitely nice to be appreciated and thanked for her efforts when she was just "normal" Kara Danvers trying to make a difference where she could.

The lunch hour came quickly, and Kara cocked her head to the side, listening for the tell-tale pattering of rain outside. The lack of a window did make weather checks slightly more difficult. Hearing the still steady thrumming of rain, she grabbed her sweater and her umbrella before texting Cat her plans and offering to bring back a lettuce wrap if she hadn't already eaten by the time she returned.

Noonan's was surprisingly empty when Kara walked through the door, a friendly chime announcing her arrival. Perhaps the weather was keeping more people inside their offices. Kara had never minded the rain, and had only brought an umbrella because she knew that walking around without one was bound to draw some strange looks in her direction.

Alex was already seated at a table in the far corner of the restaurant - their usual location - and was waving to Kara.

"So, Alex said as her sister dat down across from her, "I heard Supergirl was out and about this morning, so I know National City's in good shape. How are things going at the office?"

She took a drink, trying to appear casual while glancing at Kara over hot rim of her glass.

"Oh, I don't know. What did Cat have to say about it?"

Alex choked as water slid down the wrong pipe, and she spluttered a bit, dragging a napkin across her mouth.

"Wha- what are you talking about?"

"Alex."

It was just her name. Just one word, but Kara's tone of voice and eye roll made it clear that she wasn't getting away with anything.

"That rat," Alex muttered under her breath.

"Don't blame Cat. I accidentally heard her talking to you," Kara explained.

"Accidentally, eh?" Alex said doubtfully.

"Fine, accidentally on purpose. I heard your name and automatically tuned in to who said it. That's not exactly my fault."

'Aren't your glasses supposed to keep that from happening, "accidentally"?" Alex asked, finger quotes and all.

"Yeah, not so much."

Seeing that Kara was still smiling and didn't appear to be upset by her fiancée and her sister pulling their usual tag-team protective act, Alex relaxed and sat back in her seat.

"Honestly, Cat didn't tell me a whole lot, just that a guy at work has been bothering you and the guy is Tim Barrows from high school."

"It was definitely a blast from the past seeing him standing in my office Monday morning," Kara admitted, "and Cat's been looking for an excuse to fire him ever since."

"Welllll," Alex said gently, "Cat did mention that you haven't been acting quite like yourself, and you know that despite her alpha-bitch personality, she's extremely protective of you."

Kara smiled her most bashful smile and looked down at her hands, fingers tangling with one another on the table.

The waitress appeared to take their order and after she left there was a long pause before Alex spoke again.

"I have to say that I was surprised when Cat told me that Tim was the guy who was upsetting you. I mean he was never the best catch in Midvale High, but he was always nice enough and he was definitely sweet on you."

"Yeah, yeah, he was, " Kara said, sounding a little weary as she brought her hands to her as and clenched her fists.

"Kara?" Alex immediately sensed Kara's discomfort and as much as it surprised her, she was still determined to find out what was behind it. If someone was causing her sister distress, they were going to quickly wish they had never heard her name.

"No, you're right, he was nice," Kara said before closing her eyes briefly. "You know, he was my first time."

Alex stared, not understanding for a second, until Kara met her gaze and it clicked in her mind.

"Oh. Oh!" she exclaimed quietly. "Well then... Umm... I... That's a pretty big deal... I mean not that it has to mean anything. Sometimes first times are not all that great, but..." Her brows knit together and her face to on an expression of astonishment. "When on Earth did that happen? We double dated half the time and you weren't exactly the type to sneak off alone."

Kara sighed. She had known that she'd need to tell Alex the whole story, but some part of her had somehow hoped to avoid it.

"It was at prom the year you graduated, remember?"

Alex did remember the dance and parts of the party afterwards. She particularly remembered the hangover the next morning.

"I remember some of it," she admitted. "The two of you disappeared for a little, right? Is that when it happened?"

"Yeah, that's when."

Alex reached out, but Kara's hands were still beneath the table. Still, she spoke with her understanding and sisterly voice.

"You know it's okay, right? I mean that's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm sure there were plenty of other kids in town doing the same thing that night."

"That's what he said," Kara muttered as she looked down at the table.

"Whoa, what?" A knot was beginning to tighten in Alex's stomach as she spoke.

"He said it's what everyone was doing. He said I didn't need to ask you for permission."

The entire restaurant seemed to melt away; conversations and clattering dish ware and doors swinging open and shut all became muffled as Alex's focus narrowed to just the pale face and pale blue eyes looking at her, as if even a decade later she was looking for some sort of confirmation that she'd done the right thing.

"Kara," Alex said slowly, "he didn't..."

Kara shook her head almost violently, saying, "No, no, of course not! He couldn't force me to do anything. You know that!" She appeared intensely determined to prove that nothing untoward had happened, and that any fault was hers for misreading the situation or misunderstanding yet another human interaction.

"No, what I know is that you were sixteen years old and hadn't even been with us for five years yet," Alex whispered harshly. "When I get my hands on that asshole..."

Kara's eyes went wide and she shot her hand out to capture Alex's wrist.

"Alex, no! You can't just go beat him up for something that happened when we were teenagers."

"Kara, he took advantage of you," Alex said, voice turning soft and kind.

"I - I know that," Kara murmured. "I mean I didn't quite understand at the time, but I realized later that sex wasn't necessarily supposed to be a part of prom night."

Alex covered her eyes with the hand Kara hadn't trapped.

"God, and I introduced you! I convinced you to go out with him. I told you it'd be good for you. That you'd be more normal if you did stuff like date and hang out with other kids."

"Alex..." Kara could already hear the guilt in her sister's voice and hated that she had put it there. "I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault."

"You're sorry?" Alex said, raising teary eyes to her sister's. "You should not feel sorry for anything, Kara, especially not for telling me what happened. I just wish you'd told me back then. I'd have ripped off Tim's dick and shoved it up his ass," she finished angrily.

"I knew you'd feel bad. Eliza always made you feel responsible for every single bad thing that ever happened to me, and I didn't want to do that to you. Besides, it was a long time ago, and it's in the past now."

Alex shook her head. Kara was right that Eliza had always heaped responsibilities far above her age upon her shoulders, but that didn't mean Kara had needed to carry what was obviously a traumatic event all by herself.

"It was a long time ago, but obviously you aren't okay with what happened. If you were, then seeing the asshole now wouldn't be so upsetting."

Kara took a moment to organize her thoughts, because it actually was something she'd been pondering herself. She was glad that she'd had a chance to talk to Cat about it because it made this conversation easier.

"You're right, it was upsetting - well, more like a shock - to see him. I'd pushed down a lot of my memories of those first years in Midvale, and having them suddenly brought into my life here in National City was unsettling. I guess I'd just pushed everything down without really dealing with it, and just told myself that I was over it, that it was just growing pains or something and that it had no affect on my life now."

"Yeah, teen angst pretty much follows you forever, especially if you don't ever work through it," Alex pointed to herself and then continued, "Exhibit A, my drunken grad school days."

Kara nodded in understanding.

"That prom night - it just feels like the worst in a long list of mistakes I made when I was learning to be human. It didn't hurt physically, but - "

Alex quickly cut her off.

"It wasn't a mistake, Kara! You didn't make a mistake. That asshole knew you were inexperienced and shy and easy to manipulate. He's the only one at fault, not you. Dammit, I can't believe I let that happen to you. I should have - "

"Alex," Kara warned.

"Right, right, not my fault either," Alex said with an angry sigh. "You've spent years feeling responsible for what happened to you. You might have to let me feel guilty for a few days."

"Alright, I suppose that sounds reasonable," Kara said with a tiny smile, "But you still aren't allowed to kill him."

"I'll try. No promises."


	5. Chapter 4b

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is more a tag-on to chapter 4 than the beginning of chapter 5...

"You know I have to kill him now."

The bitten off words reached Cat's ears and she automatically headed for the balcony. Sometimes glass walls - especially paired with a super-hearing fiancée, - were extremely inconvenient. It was still drizzling, just slightly, but storms never lasted very long in National City, and this one was no exception. She perched on the arm of the white sofa and wrapped her free arm around her middle in an ineffectual move against the damp chill in the air.

"So you spoke to Kara, then?"

"Yeah, I "spoke" to her," Alex said, and the tone of her voice easily portrayed the implied air-quotes. "She told me all about what happened - blaming herself instead of that ass, naturally. Damn it, Cat, you couldn't have told me? Warned me?"

"I believe that you would be the first one to criticize me if I betrayed Kara's trust. And of course by criticize I mean slap me," Cat said with no small amount of sarcasm.

Alex rolled her eyes, but had to agree with Cat's assessment. 

"Yeah, whatever. Now what am I supposed to do? She basically made me promise not to beat him up. Of course she never told me I couldn't send someone else to do it..." she trailed off, sounding suddenly distracted by her own bright idea.

"Wouldn't that be obeying the letter of the law but not the spirit?"

"You know you can stop with the little words of wisdom if they aren't going to give me an excuse to nail this asshole."

Cat smiled just slightly. She could hear Alex's exasperation loud and clear. It matched her own. And there was something to be said for the sense of camaraderie she felt with the other woman.

"Technically he hasn't done anything wrong since he's been working here. I mean, other than send a few vaguely suggestive emails to Kara. She assured me that she would talk to him today and I'm going to let her do that before I plan anything else. As she says, he could be perfectly nice now. After all, plenty of people are jackasses in high school and manage to recover from the affliction as adults."

"Pfffft," Alex scoffed loudly and with feeling. "You don't believe that any more than I do."

Cat watched the thick storm clouds pushing away from the city and slivers blue sky appear.

"I believe that a part of me - and a part of you - is actually hoping that he's hiding something; that he's just as big an ass as he ever was, that he'll try something else with Kara, that he'll do anything that will give us an excuse to give him the punishment we feel is long overdue." Cat paused and listened to Alex just breathing on the other end of the line. "But that isn't what she wants. I think she really wants to believe that it was just a youthful indiscretion or something. She wants to continue seeing the good in everyone and she doesn't want to fully admit that something was inexcusably taken from her. And so for her sake I am hoping that her faith in humanity is not misplaced."

"You're right," Alex said quietly. "You're right, and I know I'm just being selfish wanting to swing in and save the day all these years later. I'm just trying to make up for not being there for her."

There was the soft sound of Alex clearing her throat, and then two deep breaths and Cat knew that Alex was probably sitting in her lab, facing a wall, fingers pressed to her temples as she tried to hold herself together. It was a little bit surprising how openly empathetic she had become since Kara had come into her life. She used to actively shut down such feelings.

"She doesn't blame you at all, Alex. I know she had to have told you that."

"Of course she doesn't. She never blames anyone but herself," Alex replied, voice full of teary frustration. "But c'mon, Cat, you and I both know better. I am her older sister. She only went out with him because of me. Hell, she only went to the prom because of me. And then I ditched her so that I could hang out without her and get drunk. And she'd still call me the best sister ever."

It was obvious now that Alex was holding back full sobs, and it was difficult for Cat to listen to, knowing that she couldn't do anything more than say words Alex probably wouldn't believe. Because she knew that years of unfair expectations were not going to vanish and allow the other woman to realize that she'd only been a seventeen year old kid herself.

"You are a wonderful sister, Alex and I'm not saying that because it's what Kara would tell you. I've known you for almost a year and seen your relationship with her. Frankly I was jealous at first. And nervous. Because I knew if we didn't get along there was no way Kara would continue a relationship with me. You are her rock. Her safe place. Don't let this change that between you. Trust me, guilt is only useful if it pushes you to improve, and any missteps you feel you may have taken in your youth have long since been corrected."

Alex was quiet again aside from a few muffled sniffles, and when she spoke again she sounded almost back to her normal bad-ass self.

"Thank you, Cat. A part of me actually thought you would blame me too."

"I prefer to put the blame where it belongs, firmly in the lap of the prick down in sales and marketing." Cat replied.

"Right," Alex said as if reminding herself. "Well I've been doing a deep search on him but it still hasn't come back with much. I guess now I don't know whether to hope it finds something or not, but it should be complete by tomorrow."

"Well as I said, what I hope for Kara's sake doesn't mean that I'm not open to discussing various ways of eviscerating him if you discover anything."

Alex chuckled a little before saying, "I would be glad to be in on that planning session."


	6. Chapter 5

Kara did not talk to Tim that day. Or the next day.

Her conversations with Cat and Alex had helped her to settle things in her mind and she no longer felt her stomach drop when she saw his emails sitting in her inbox, half-written replies still un-sent. He hadn't stopped by her floor after that first time, and when they passed he was professional, only seeming a small bit too pleased to see her. In another few weeks the emails would no doubt stop and he probably wouldn't even bother doing more than give a cursory wave.

She hadn't told Cat that she had yet to speak to him, but Cat hadn't asked, either because she didn't want to upset her by reminding her about him or because she didn't want appear overbearing and controlling when that was the last thing Kara needed. She also hadn't mentioned the situation to Alex again, although she caught a few looks from her sister that were just a touch too filled with that horrid mix of guilt and sympathy followed by a hardening of her eyes which did not bode well for Tim Barrows.

So far Alex had apparently held off from following through with any of the things she was no-doubt considering.

Then the weekend came and Kara was able to push it all to the back of her mind as she enjoyed a rare emergency-free two days at Cat's beach house. Naturally work hadn't been entirely left at the office, but there had also been beach combing and swimming amongst the waves, showing Carter how to body surf, and curling herself into Cat's body when they finally put aside work for the day.

By the time Monday arrived, she had a handful of rather weak reasons why she should just let things lie and go about her life as usual. 

And then she walked into her office and saw the flowers.

Now flowers were not an uncommon thing to find on her desk anymore. She'd always had a penchant for placing small vases of flowers she'd found on her non-emergency flights. Then, as their relationship had progressed, Cat would sometimes leave flowers for her. They were usually small arrangements or even single blossoms.

What was sitting on her desk was a full floral extravaganza. And what made it more unsettling was the fact that when flowers were delivered at CatCo, they were dropped at the front desk and then the security guard would call the recipient. Someone had brought these flowers to her office in person, and Kara or course knew who it was before ever reading the card.

A flash of anger rolled through her as she thought about how close she had been to just putting the whole thing - past and present - behind her, only to be dragged back to it by a damn vase of flowers. But as much as she wanted to hurl the vase against the wall, she knew that she couldn't. For one thing, glass was a real pain to clean out of carpet, even with superpowers. For another, she had been telling everyone that her reaction to Tim was not his fault and that he hadn't been anything other than nice since re-introducing himself. He was apparently unable to catch the clue that Kara was not interested in talking to him, but she would spell it out for him and that would be the end of it.

She carefully picked up the flowers and walked back to the elevator. Balancing the round glass vase in one hand as she pressed the button, she hoped that Cat wasn't watching her from her office. When the sound of Cat's approaching heartbeat didn't touch her ears, she figured she was safe and stepped in quickly when the doors opened. She would tell Cat everything after she had dealt with the problem.

Confidence was thrumming through her as she walked into the sales and marketing department. She would say her piece, bid him good luck and that would be the end of this chapter in her life. She was grateful for the early hour, and the fact that no one around Tim's cubicle had arrived for the day yet. He looked up and saw her walking towards him, and stood up, casually draping one hand on the top of the short cubicle wall and smiling that ingratiating smile of his.

"I was hoping those would get your attention, since none of my emails did. I mean I suppose I should have just been more direct and flat out asked you out in one of them, but this is even better since I get to see you in person."

His words and evident attitude took Kara aback, and she felt some of her natural nervousness pushing to the surface.

"Aww, umm, that's so sweet, Tim, but I'm just not interested. In fact, I'm engaged."

"Yeah, I heard about that."

"Wha - You heard?" Kara was flabbergasted, and it showed on her face, eyebrows drawn together, and head shaking in confusion, leading her to straighten her glasses. "And you still tried to get me to go out with you?"

"C'mon, Kara. You're engaged to Cat Grant. I figured she pressured you into it or you did it to advance your career. Everyone's heard the stories about her," he said, miming claws with both hands.

"You thought she pressured..." the irony was impossible to miss and Kara felt herself getting more upset by the second. "You thought I would get engaged just to get ahead in my career? Excuse me?"

"Hey, I'm sorry, Kara. I was just remembering how you were back in school and - "

Kara's eyes flashed and she immediately cut him off.

"How I was back in school? You mean when you - No, I can't have this conversation with you. I won't. Just leave me alone, Tim. I'm not interested, I'm never going to be interested, and I would never cheat on Ms Grant! Let's just forget high school ever happened and I think we'll both be happier."

She put the flowers down on his desk with an audible thunk and a sloshing of water before turning on her heel and heading back to the elevator, but Tim just had to get in one last word.

"I don't think either of us is going to forget high school," he said, his tone low and implications clear. "And how serious can your engagement be when you're still calling her Ms Grant?"

Kara didn't turn back, she just kept walking, thankful that the elevator was still on that floor and relieved to be able to step right on and press the 'close doors' button. She leaned against the wall feeling the knot in her stomach grow larger with each moment that passed. Her alien physiology kept her from physical illness, but it couldn't keep the anxiety and stress induced nausea at bay and she worried that she wouldn't make it to the restroom in time.

She hit the button for the floor above her office and as soon as the doors opened, she dashed out and rushed down the hallway. It was the floor where the "super squad" office was and most of it was vacant space and she had known that she would be able to get to the restroom without being seen by anyone. After a few minutes splashing water on her face, she thought that she was fine, and ready to return to her own office, but then she looked up and saw her own reflection in the mirror, looking much younger and with none of her new-found confidence, and a sudden wave of overwhelming feelings washed up over her, sucking the breath from her lungs and sending her spinning around and into one of the tiny cubicles. She barely made it before her stomach rebelled, muscles seizing as heaving spasms forced out everything she'd consumed that morning.

Her mind was sending flashes of the conversation she'd just had interspersed with memories of clumsy groping beneath layers of chiffon, clammy hands gripping at her wrists, strange unwelcome sensations and the weight of a body that she suddenly realized would have been too heavy and strong for anyone other than her to shift. Long forgotten words came back to her, hissed vulgarities hot against her ear, and repeated assurances that it was all good, and refusals to listen to her doubts. She remembered, with horrible clarity, just lying there waiting for it to end, not daring to break his grip and risk questions about her refusal to continue, but feeling confused and hollow and wondering why everything felt so wrong; wondering if this was a human thing she would never understand.

Her cheeks were wet, her makeup ruined, and as she sank to the floor afterwards, the tile wall cool through her thin blouse, she was aware enough to be grateful that the bathroom probably hadn't been used in a while and was still gleaming from the last pass of the cleaning crew. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, her powers seeming ultimately useless to her in that moment. She just wanted to go back to her office and start the whole morning over again, no flowers, no Tim, no horrible memories from the past.

A few minutes later, her phone buzzed against her hip and she reached into her pocket to pull it out.

"Kara? Where are you? No one has seen you and I know you were headed for the office, and Alex says that you aren't off doing anything for the DEO," Cat's voiced was edged with worry as her words tumbled out in rapid succession.

"I'm here at CatCo," Kara said, taking a deep breath and wiping at her face with the back of her hand. "I'll be back in my office in a few minutes."

"You're here? Where? The IT gnome said he hadn't seen you, and neither has James or anyone else on our floor."

"I'm... I'm not on our floor," Kara said haltingly.

"Kara," Cat had picked up on something in the way the younger woman was speaking, and her own voice held even more concern. "Where are you?"

Kara cleared her throat, ashamed at being caught in such an emotional state; so weak as to be literally crying in a washroom like the protagonist in some chick-flick or teen romance right before the hero sweeps in to save the day. She was supposed to be the hero. She was not supposed to require rescuing.

"Darling?" Cat's voice raised in volume and even through the phone line, Kara's hearing picked up the sound of her chair being pushed back and the muffled tap of her heels against the flat carpeting. "Kara, tell me where you are."

A sniffle followed by, "I'm in the ladies room on the forty-third floor, but Cat, you don't - "

"Do not move. I will be there in two minutes."

Kara quickly slid her phone back into her pocket as she braced herself against the wall and stood up. The metal cubicle door rattled too loudly in it's frame, and she winced at the sound before stepping to the sinks and first rinsing her mouth with a handful of water before splashing still more onto her face. She blindly reached for a fist-full of paper towels, and opened her eyes when she heard the soft 'whump' of the heavy door being pushed open.

Cat watched her turn around, paper towels pressed to the lower half of her face while droplets of water remained clinging to her eyelashes. Kara lowered her hands, revealing an expression that was so sad on a face that looked so startlingly young.

"Oh Kara," she whispered, one stride taking her forward, arms stretching to pull the other woman close. The trembling she felt jolting Kara's frame was something new, and something she immediately knew that she never wanted to feel again.

"What happened? Please tell me. Alex said you haven't been out as Supergirl all morning," she said, assuming that whatever was bothering Kara was some perceived failure as her alter-ego.

But Kara shook her head against Cat's slim shoulder before muttering, "It's nothing like that. It's just... It's just... He really isn't a good person," she finally choked out, "and I don't think he ever was and I don't think he would have stopped if I'd told him to, and I think if I'd just been normal, he'd have been too strong to stop, and I've just been so wrong about everything."

Cat had felt herself growing more stiff with every word from Kara's mouth, but as the stilted and sorrowful explanation petered out, and she felt strong hands clutching at her, she forced herself to soften, just for the younger woman's sake. She stroked gentle fingers up and down Kara's back and pressed a kiss to soft blonde waves.

"It's all right, darling. He's not here now, I am, and you are going to be fine and he is going to be so fired the second I get back to my desk."


	7. Chapter 6a

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just the first part of this chapter because you know I can't resist getting Alex involved, and that will come in the next part.

Cat was furious as she led a very subdued Kara not back to her own office, but to the "super squad" office around the corner from the restroom. She didn't want to risk anyone seeing Kara in her current state and then questioning her or worse yet speculating and gossiping around the office. It wasn't that Kara was still teary-eyed or noticeably upset, although there was a certain redness about her eyes, but more than that, a very essential part of her, that lightness and hope that made everyone around her feel better about themselves was sadly lacking. The memories and realizations of the morning had seemed to snuff it out and Cat was determined to protect Kara until she was feeling more like herself.

"Let's just sit in here for a few minutes. I need to calm myself before heading back or I will use my letter opener to stab the next person who irritates me," Cat said, using herself as the reason for their unusual destination.

Kara just nodded and let herself be led to the utilitarian but far from stylish sofa along one wall. It was no wonder that no one had noticed its absence from one of the common areas.

"We should get back," Kara said, giving herself a little shake. "You have a full schedule starting in twenty minutes and I need to finish editing my article before lunchtime if it's going to make the press deadline, and - "

"We have a minute," Cat replied firmly, placing a light hand over Kara's where they sat clenched together on her lap.

"He left me flowers."

Cat tightened her grip slightly, afraid to give verbal encouragement in case it just made the already self-conscious woman feel more exposed.

"That's why I went to see him. I never talked to him last week because the emails stopped and I didn't want to make a whole big deal out of nothing if he'd just been being friendly." She turned to Cat and blinked rapidly, deep blue eyes almost smothering Cat with the weight of the emotions they held. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"You didn't need to tell me anything," Cat assured her. "We are partners, and I know I'm generally very bad at remembering that, with a tendency to steamroll over you, but I am really trying to be better. I'm not going to try to control your actions or tell you what to do." Cat really hoped that her fiancée was able to believe what she was saying, and tried to convey that with her eyes. "If you had decided you never wanted to confront him that would have been your choice and I would not have tried to change your mind."

"I know," Kara said, hearing the sincerity behind Cat's words. She took a breath and had to look away before continuing, her hands starting to move as she spoke. "Anyway, he left flowers on my desk so I went to bring them back and make sure he understood that there was no chance of any relationship between us. I told him I was already engaged and he said that he knew."

"He knew?" Even Cat was amazed at the temerity of the soon-to-be-former employee.

Kara nodded. "He - he said some stuff," she was motioning with her hands nervously, and Cat didn't need specifics to get the gist of how the conversation had gone. "And he implied that it didn't matter to him, he was still interested. I mean I set him straight right away and told him how wrong he was if he thought I would ever cheat on you, and then I sort of stormed away."

Cat was truly incensed and it was a testament to her love for Kara that she wasn't allowing her anger to propel her to her feet and directly to its source.

"And he - well he mentioned high school a couple of times and just the way he said it - I can't explain but it was like he knew. He knew how I'd felt then, pressured and obligated, and he knew how I felt now, just empty and ashamed."

Kara's back had been curling forward as she spoke, and now she propped her elbows on her knees and placed her hands cupping her own face, shielding herself from Cat's eyes. But this was one thing Cat would not allow. She shifted off the sofa and actually moved to her knees in front of Kara. Then she was gentle, but insistent as she pulled away Kara's hands and replaced them with her own.

"I can't tell you not to feel ashamed or empty or anything else, darling. Those are your feelings, and you can't just change them in an instant. But I will tell you that you do not deserve to feel that way about anything. You are a strong, confident, smart, beautiful woman, and I know you were a kind and loving girl. For God's sake, you're a damn superhero! And even if only a few people know that, you know it. You know you are better than a dozen of that ass. I know that doesn't help you feel better in this moment, but eventually it will. You will come through this with your usual grace and he will continue to be an ass. An unemployed, ass with absolutely no prospects in the media industry on this or any other coast."

Kara smiled, that shy half-smile that Cat found so endearing, and then she pulled Cat back up to sit on the sofa. She tucked her own feet up and leaned into the older woman, just taking comfort in their closeness.

"You know you still can't fire him," Kara said quietly, after a few minutes of silence where she had been able to rebuild some of what had been torn down in a flood of unwanted memories.

"The hell I can't!" Cat said, nearly shouting, and catching herself in time. She breathed out through her nose, lips a tight line holding back a thousand cutting words, and was then able to calmly continue. "I told you a week ago that I can fire him for any reason whatsoever. He has sent you numerous unwanted emails and now he has made an unwanted advance."

"Yes, but I never told him any of it was unwanted," Kara said bleakly, realizing that her words matched both the current and past situations.

"That doesn't matter," Cat spoke through gritted teeth. "He is a pimple on the ass of humanity and I don't want him on my payroll. He as good as assaulted you in high school, and I know how much it hurts you to realize that, but it's true, and I will not forgive him for that. And now he has the balls to approach you again, no-doubt denigrating our relationship and endeavoring to make you feel like that shy insecure teenager all over again. Well not in my building!"

Cat was pacing by the time she finished ranting, her perfectly manicured nails digging into the palms of her hands, and her heels all but stabbing into the floor as she walked.

"Please, Cat. Let's just leave it alone. We can forget about it now. It's over and done with."

"Forget?" Cat questioned in astonishment. "You aren't going to forget, Kara. For a week I've seen the shadow of those memories in your eyes. That isn't going to disappear, especially now that you have accepted that it wasn't just some youthful indiscretion on his part. I don't want the person responsible for that to be working for me. Getting paid by me." 

She accentuated her words by pounding a fist against her thigh and Kara was up in a flash, grabbing her hand to keep her from hurting herself again.

"If you fire him, he will tell everyone that I'm the reason. He'll tell everyone what happened, now and then, but he won't tell it like it happened. He'll twist it around until it's barely recognizable as my memories. But people will believe him, Cat. Please just leave it."

The pleading in Kara's eyes and voice went right to Cat's heart and she reached out and pulled the younger woman close before she started crying again.

"I'll do whatever you want, Kara. It's entirely your decision."


	8. Chapter 6b

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the previous chapter...

Cat and Kara had stayed in the secret office for another half an hour, full schedule be damned, They sat there, with the hum of multiple computers filling the silences, and news scrolling across a small television which Cat didn't even acknowledge. She was fully invested in being a soothing presence for the woman curled against her side. For a few minutes she mentally walked through a list of what would need to be delegated so that she could just call her driver and have him pick her and Kara up and drive them out to the beach house, where Kara always seemed so at peace. In the end she knew that Kara would refuse such coddling, and maybe it was better for the young woman to concentrate on work.

Kara had been the first to stand, disentangling herself from her fiancée, stretching lanky limbs with muscles that didn't actually need stretching, and casting an only slightly smaller-than-usual smile down on Cat as she extended her hand to help her up.

Cat had stuffed down all of the murderous thoughts that spun through her mind at the idea that anyone would dare to hurt the owner of the beautiful heart behind that tilted smile. She saved those thoughts for Alex.

"I'm telling you, Cat, I can make it look like an accident," Alex was telling her, less than an hour later.

Cat had called her as soon as she had a break between meetings, needing someone she could release her anger to after working so hard to remain rational and reasonable for Kara.

Reasonable had flown right out the door and taken a swan dive off the balcony about half a second after Alex had answered her call.

"We don't have to kill him - necessarily," Alex growled, "maybe just make it so he'll wish he was dead."

Cat couldn't help chuckling as Alex went over elaborate revenge plans which they both knew they would never carry out. Discussing them in detail might not solve any problems, but it made the two of them feel better in the moment.

"I would definitely prefer to let him live," Cat drawled, "and keep him chained in the CatCo boiler room perhaps where I could visit him every time someone pisses me off."

"A good idea, but a cell here would be more secure. I'm sure I could get J'onn to look the other way if I explained why the useless piece of excrement was here."

Cat straightened in her chair, fingers curling tighter around her phone.

"You haven't actually told him anything, have you?" she asked, "Kara is so worried..." she trailed off but Alex had heard the nervousness already.

"Worried about what? And no, I wouldn't tell J'onn anything without talking to Kara first, and as much as I'd love for him to melt his brain to mush, I don't think Kara would approve."

"Yes, well, that's true, and she also - well - I think she'd just feel ashamed if her 'alien dad' knew anything about any of this," Cat said, feeling all of her visceral enjoyment over plotting revenge, draining away to be replaced by the sadness of reality. "I'm glad you didn't see her earlier, Alex. She looked so - "

"Young?" Alex supplied, "Hurt? Disappointed? Embarrassed? Because those were pretty common facial expressions when we were younger. And half the time I tried to pretend I didn't notice and left her to just deal with whatever it was alone. Because that's what a great sister I was back then."

"Alex," Cat could already sense the guilt-ridden rabbit hole they were circling.

"No, Cat, I need to say this. You and Kara can tell me that none of this is my fault, and I know that ultimately, you're right. I'm not the fucker who convinced her to go upstairs and all but ra--" Alex's voice cracked on the word and Cat was quick to try to soothe her.

"Alex, you can't keep doing this to yourself. You were almost as young as she was, and while I don't doubt you were a hell of a lot more street smart, you still weren't clairvoyant. You didn't know what was going to happen or you never would have put her in that position."

"But - "

"You were still adjusting to having a sister and being a teenager and losing your father, and maybe you weren't as supportive as you wish you'd been, you still never wanted anything bad to happen to her."

"No," Alex whispered, tightly, "I didn't. My motives for setting her up with Tim weren't completely pure, but I really did think it would be good for her. I mean I was graduating and moving away and she was going to be there in school all alone. I thought if she could just get into a group of friends that she'd be okay. Tim's sister was in her grade and dating him meant that they got to know each other and the other members of her class stopped seeing her as just the weird girl who's parents had died."

Alex sighed, feeling emotionally exhausted. She just wanted so badly to be able to fix all of this for Kara and despite the fantasies she'd cooked up with Cat, she knew that ultimately there wasn't a lot she could do. Her background check of him had shown a few disciplinary actions in his fraternity, of all things, back in college, and reading between the lines, Alex thought that Tim probably had not changed much from his high school days. There was a harassment complaint at a previous job (hidden beneath layers of employment confidentiality agreements) and a neighbor who said that he had a rotating collection of girlfriends since his divorce, but nothing actionable. Even his ex-wife, who had been not-too-subtly questioned, hadn't given them anything other than that he was a serial philanderer.

Cat had been quiet for a moment, allowing Alex to mentally collect herself, but now she spoke quietly.

"I know you want to make this all just go away, but unfortunately you can't. No one can. In the end all we can do is support Kara."

"I know," Alex replied. "But trust me when I say that if I ever see him in a darkened alley, he will never again think of bothering any other woman."

"Yes," Cat agreed. "I had been thinking that a stiletto heel through the scrotum would probably take care of any such urges on his part."

"Yeah, that would do the trick."

"I have also told his manager to alert me at the slightest sign that he is either bothering any co-workers or in any way slacking on the job. Unfortunately, since he is new here he will probably keep his nose clean for a while."

Alex nodded, although Cat couldn't see it and then said, "And what about Kara?"

Cat pressed two fingers to her temple and then a glimpse of Kara out in the bullpen caught her attention. She was talking to Winn, smiling, seemingly fine aside from a slight stiffness in the way she held herself and the distance the usually tactile woman put between her friend and herself.

"We'll just have to follow her lead for now. I don't want to override her wishes." Her eyes hardened as she saw Kara laugh like some lady in a Jane Austen novel, nothing like her usual full laughter or adorable giggle. "However," Cat continued, "if he makes one more wrong move, I will personally put an end to this and it will not go well for him."

"If that happens," Alex said, "You have to let me know, because I will be waiting outside and when security tosses that son of a bitch out the door, I will pick him up and reintroduce myself to him before taking him out to the desert and letting him know that not all women are so easy to control."

The two women fell silent for a moment. They each knew that despite their desire to show Tim Barrows what a huge mistake he had made messing with the sister of Alex Danvers and the fiancée of Cat Grant, their greater wish was for him to just disappear into the woodwork again and never show his face to Kara again.

"Will you join us for dinner at the penthouse tonight?" Cat asked. "I think that Kara would appreciate you being there."

"Are you sure? I mean maybe she's better off concentrating on her new life with you and Carter right now. Putting some distance between herself and her memories," Alex said sadly.

"You are her sister and her personal hero. I long ago resigned myself to the fact that you know things about her that I may never know and that she will always hold your relationship closest to her heart. She will want you there."

"Thank you, Cat. And for the record, I can't imagine her with anyone but you. I never thought anyone would be able to protect her the way I do now, but you have proven me wrong and I'm glad. She deserves the happiness you two share. You both do."

Cat felt a suspicious tightening in her throat and pricking behind her eyes, and quickly made an excuse to end the call before Alex said anything more that would have her turning into an emotional mess in her office.


	9. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a short epilogue after this, I promise!

Sometimes Cat hated when the things she wished for came true. A month passed and Tim Burrows continued on as a moderately successful employee who completely avoided her fiancée. She was happy for Kara, but damn, she and Alex really had some good plans worked out. Instead, his name, and indeed the memories associated with him, started to fade into the background and Kara turned back into her normal cheerful self.

Except when it came to high heels. She would never be cheerful about high heels.

"Do I have to wear these? I know I have some nice flats somewhere," Kara complained, gesturing down to the four-inch black peep-toe heels currently torturing her feet. Well perhaps torture was too harsh for a woman who literally felt no pain, but they did make her feel as gangly and uncoordinated as a gazelle on roller skates.

"Flats and nice do not belong in the same sentence, Kara," Cat countered, "and even if they did, the nicest flats in the world would not be appropriate with a Vera Wang evening gown."

Kara looked at herself in the full-length mirror inside their closet. She had to admit that the shoes did look good with the deep blue satin gown currently hugging her figure and held up against gravity by a pair of slender straps.

"Besides, Kara, you know I don't like to be taller than you, and my own shoes would put me right at your height if you were wearing anything other than heels."

It was true that the silver stilettos that Cat was wearing with her plum colored satin gown were high enough to just put her at eye level with her fiancée.

"Fine, I'll wear them, but I don't have to like it," she huffed.

An hour later and Kara was feeling slightly better about her ensemble as she entered the ballroom on the top floor of the CatCo building, to the flashing and clicking of a dozen cameras. It was an annual benefit that Cat had started just before Kara arrived in National City. It honored citizens who had shown particular selflessness and personal generosity towards the city. Supergirl had actually been a guest of honor the previous year, but this year Cat wanted to show off her fiancée without any breaks for a hero appearance.

As usual the food was excellent, the music - provided by the National City Symphony - superb, and the company? Well, Kara was with Cat and that was good enough for her, although the constant glad-handing was a bit trying after the first hour. Even dancing couldn't dissuade those who were eager to bend Cat's ear for one reason or another. It was almost eleven o'clock before the party began to wind down just slightly, and Kara saw it as an opportunity to escape.

"Haven't we mingled enough?" she asked after what seemed like the hundredth idle conversation about such thrilling topics as the weather, the pennant chances of the National City baseball team, and the latest Supergirl sightings.

Cat gracefully moved a step closer and slid an arm around Kara's waist, in a casual show of possessiveness. Her fingers skimmed the satin and she mused that it was not as soft as the skin it covered. Hiding her reactions to had been one of the harder parts of becoming one half of a public couple and for Kara. When Cat felt a familiar shiver under her palm she had to contain the smug smile at the knowledge that she still had such an affect on the younger woman. 

"Yes, I think we've probably seen everyone worth seeing, and there are still a number of board members here who can represent CatCo if some reporter runs in wanting a last-minute quote."

Of course no sooner had the words left her mouth, than Albert Steiner, one of the few board members she could stand, started heading their way with his chatterbox of a wife at his side. The woman could wax poetic on the color of the ballroom drapes for fifteen minutes and a speedy exit seemed much less assured.

"You go and fetch our wraps, and I'll keep them busy. When you come back it will be the perfect excuse for me to break away," Cat said, loosening her hold on Kara and pressing a chaste kiss to the spot just under her left ear.

The kiss caused another shiver to prick goosebumps up Kara's arms, and the smile she gave to Cat was one that spoke of certain retaliation once they arrived home. Cat smiled back, welcoming the challenge.

Kara hurried away towards the cloakroom, where a bored looking girl was manning the coat-check. She handed over her ticket and watched as the girl moved towards the back of a long rack. Tapping her fingers in antsy anticipation of going home, with all the thoughts that carried, Kara didn't notice someone coming up behind her.

"Kara, I was hoping we'd get a chance to talk," came a voice she had hoped to avoid, and then the feel of a heavy hand landing on her shoulder caused her to startle and whirl around.

"Tim," she said stiffly. "I can't say I shared that hope," she said, looking back to the coat check window and willing the girl to hurry.

"Well, we didn't exactly leave things on a good note."

"No, we didn't," Kara said, and then let out a breath, saying, "Here comes the coat-check girl. I'm sorry, but I'm really in a hurry."

She thanked the girl, and tried to slip past Tim and back to the main ballroom, but he quickly turned to follow her.

"C'mon, Kara, give me another chance," he said, jogging a few steps to get ahead of her and blocking her way. "Here, let's duck in here just for five minutes so I can at least explain."

They were standing next to an open doorway to a smaller conference room and the way he was standing, she could either enter the room or bowl him over to get past and years of withholding her powers made her decision for her.

"Two minutes," she said firmly, "Cat is waiting for me."

"Of course," he said, ushering her inside.

"I'm not sure what there is to explain," Kara said, maneuvering herself so that she was closest to the door and able to make a quick exit. "You denigrated my relationship and tried to proposition me. And then you made crude references to what happened between us in high school."

"I'm sorry, Kara, you're right. I came on like a steamroller, but you didn't have to go and run to your little lesbian lover."

Kara felt like she had just been slapped, the sudden change in Tim's demeanor completely taking her aback. She felt a pounding in her ears that she realized was her heart, thundering beneath flesh and bone and blue satin.

"I - What? What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on. It's obvious you must have gone straight to the Catlady and tattled like we were back in school. My manager has been watching me like a hawk ever since; on my back for the slightest thing, and keeping me from pairing up with any of the women in the department when we go out on sales calls."

"I - I didn't - I never - okay, technically that's a lie because of course I told Cat everything, but I never asked her to do anything about it. In fact I kept her from firing you! Like three times at least! And probably beating the crap out of you too!" Kara hissed, angry but still trying to keep herself calm.

"It was flowers and a couple of innuendos, K! Nothing to get all worked up about. It's not like there's no history between us. C'mon, you gave it up pretty quick back in high school, so of course I figured you'd be game for another round," he was using an old pet name that she had always hated but always been too insecure to correct. 

Tim had been moving closer as he spoke, and now he was definitely inside Kara's personal space and she felt her hands growing clammy and her breath quickening. This was insane. They were at a high class function, less than twenty feet from hundreds of people. What was he doing? She took a step back and connected with the wall just beside the doorway. All she had to do was sprint out into the hallway, find Cat, get out, and deal with everything in the morning.

"Hey, I know you're swinging for the other team now, but I still think I could make you change your mind. C'mon, K, give me a chance," he said as he took another step forward and reached out to slam the door shut, making her jump at the sound.

And then, Kara felt something rise up inside her, and it rose past the fear from the past and the unsure girl she had been and pushed down all of the lessons she had thought she needed to learn back then; avoid a scene, try to fit in, don't push, don't argue, don't fight back or you could hurt someone.

"I don't know what you think is going to happen here. Maybe you've had too much to drink or maybe you need to talk to a therapist or something, but if you don't step back, you will regret it," she said, and her voice was lacking Kara's demure sweetness and filled with the raw confidence she projected as Supergirl.

"Oh I will, will I?" Tim sneered, clearly getting more and more infuriated by the fact that Kara wasn't falling in line as she had all through high school. "I'm already sure that I'll be fired by tomorrow, so as far as I can see, I don't have much to lose," he continued. "And considering our past relationship, anything that happens in here is going to be my word against yours."

Momentarily stunned by what Tim was saying, Kara wasn't prepared when he suddenly rushed her, both hands on her shoulders shoving her into the wall as she stumbled in those damn heels she despised. Her head connected with the wall and she knew instinctively that if she'd been a normal human, she would probably be bruised and dizzy.

But she was not a normal human, and she was done being a naive and powerless victim. She straightened up and looked Tim right in the eye. He was clearly surprised, expecting her to be disoriented.

"For years, I tried to convince myself that what happened between us was a normal part of teen life. You made me think that every instinct I had was wrong... that I was wrong for feeling empty and used. You stole something from me and acted like it was my fault! And even when you started working here, I told myself that it was all just teenage angst. I told myself and Cat that you deserved a chance; that maybe you were a good guy who just made one mistake. But you are not a good guy, and you really, really should not have done that," she told him, and when he sneered again and made another grab for her, she shot out her right arm, hand already balled into a fist, and caught him square on the jaw.

He grunted and went reeling backwards, eyes wide and mouth open in a startled gasp. His hand flew to his face before he rallied and made perhaps the second stupidest decision of his miserable life, and barreled towards her again. His own fist connected with her cheek, but she didn't even give her customary human reaction, and instead remained staring at him as she heard the bones in his hand snap in what she had to admit was a very satisfying way. One more controlled punch and he was laid out flat on the floor, eyes rolling back in his head.

Kara took one, two, then a third deep breath, hardly believing what had just happened. The tears that had been ready to fall while he had been insulting her and cornering her, were blinked away like the bad memory he would soon become. She straightened her dress and picked up Cat's wrap from where it had dropped to the floor, then turned to the door just as it was opening.

"Cat?" she exclaimed upon seeing her fiancée standing there along with a security guard so well-muscled it looked like he could barely fit through the door. "Wha - how did you - ?"

"I got away from Albert sooner than I thought, and I saw that piece of worthless garbage corner you and bring you in here," Cat said simply.

Tim was beginning to come around, and the security guard headed over to haul him to his feet.

"Should we call the police, Ms Grant?" he asked.

Kara started to shake her head, thinking that on one point, Tim had been correct: it would be her word against his and frankly he was the one in worse shape. Cat however, had different ideas.

"Yes, Frank, I want this sorry excuse for a human being hauled down to the station. The charges might not stick, but I'll feel better knowing he spent at least a few nights worried about his own personal safety instead of preying on others'."

And with that, Cat approached Tim, who was standing on unsteady legs and looked up at him with all the fury she possessed shining from her eyes like twin flames.

"You hurt her when you were a pimply faced teen, knowing that she'd never tell a soul, and now you tried to hurt her thinking you'd get away with it again, but you were so very, very wrong," she spat out her words as if even talking to him left a bad taste in her mouth. "I will make it my life's mission to wipe out every sorry memory Kara has of you and replace them with joy, but you? You will never be able to forget her because you will spend the rest of your life paying for what you did to her, in one way or another."

The words were as good as a promise and even Tim realized that, shrinking under her fiery gaze and keeping his eyes averted from Kara as he was led out of the room.

As soon as they were alone, Cat opened her arms and Kara sped into them gratefully, resting her head on one narrow shoulder and sniffling as she brushed at her damp eyes, mindful of keeping tears from landing on expensive silk.

"Shhh..." Cat soothed. "It's over now, and you were magnificent."

Kara's brows pinched together and she stepped back, looking at Cat with a question on her face.

"You didn't think I just let him bring you in here without listening at the door, did you?"

Kara shook her head. "I - I guess I thought you were getting the security guard."

Cat drew her cellphone out of her purse. "No need, when I could call him. No, there was no way I was letting you out of my sight - well, hearing anyway," she continued with one of the little shrugs and head tilts that Kara found so endearing.

"So you heard everything?" Kara asked, a light blush coloring her cheeks as she remembered some of the cutting remarks Tim had made about Cat and about their relationship.

Cat nodded. "I heard you being absolutely brilliant, and then I heard you deck him with a good old fashioned one-two punch."

Kara gave her own little self-deprecating shrug, and fiddled with her glasses before Cat reached up and stilled her hand.

"Brilliant, I said, and I don't want to hear you saying anything different."

Kara smiled then and pulled Cat back into the circle of her arms, feeling so loved and treasured that it almost hurt.

"Thank you," she said. "Do you know how much I love you?"

Ever competitive, Cat teased, "Just slightly less than I love you. Now let's get the hell out of here and make this a night to remember for back in our bedroom."

"Cat!" Kara exclaimed, blushing as they moved towards the door.

"I can't help it if I've been waiting to peel that dress off of you all night long."

Kara's blush deepened even further, if that was possible, and she reached out to gasp one of Cat's small hands in hers.

"You know I couldn't have done that without you, right?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, you could have," Cat disagreed, "I just helped you see that you deserved to."

Kara just smiled wider and pulled Cat closer as they waited for the car that would bring them back to the home that would soon hear the sounds of laughter and love-making ringing off its walls.


	10. Epilogue

Epilogue

The full heat of the August sun beat down on Tim Barrows as he walked out of the National City Municipal Courthouse. After two days in jail, thanks to the weekend, he'd finally had his arraignment on assault charges. He had been released on only a thousand dollars bail, and he knew that even if convicted, his punishment would be mild. But that was only the judicial punishment.

He knew that Cat Grant would be true to her word and that he would never get another job in National City or indeed any major city where Cat Grant had contacts. That meant he would most likely be forced to move to some Podunk news outlet in the middle of Nowheresville. The second he came down from the courthouse steps, he headed towards the nearest bar. It was probably some lawyers' hangout, but it was only three in the afternoon, so hopefully it would be empty.

At least that one small wish came true as he walked through the door. He let the cold blast of the air conditioner wash over him while his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting inside. It looked like aside from the bartender and a couple of people hunched over their drinks at the far end of the bar, he was the only person in the place.

With a minimum of words, he ordered a stiff drink, slammed it back and pushed his glass forward for a refill. He was about to take a sip when a slender woman entered and sat down right next to him. He raised his drink in her direction, but said nothing. For once, he was completely uninterested and he hoped she'd keep to herself.

His luck ran out when she started to speak.

"Bit early for something that strong," she observed.

"Yeah, maybe. Look, no offense, but I'm drinking thanks to another member of your sex, so I'm not real eager to start anything with you."

"Oh, me neither, Tim."

At the sound of his name, Tim turned toward the slim brunette and then rolled his eyes and took another drink.

"Alex Danvers. Well, that figures. What, you been stalking the court docket for my name to come up? You live here too, or did Kara call you here to fight her battles like you did all through high school?"

"Aaaand, that is really not what you should have said just now," Alex said, and with one hand she grabbed the back of his neck and slammed his face down onto the solid hardwood bar.

"What the -"

She cut off his exclamation but slamming him down again and then yanking him up and onto his feet. With a nod to the bartender, she started yanking him towards the back door.

"My old friend here just slipped when he was getting off his stool," she said with a sarcastic tone in her voice.

While he was still stunned, she managed to get him all the way outside into the alley where she swung him around until his back hit the wall and he raised his bloody face to look at her.

"As overprotective as always, eh, Alex?" Tim said snidely, wiping at his surely broken nose with the back of his hand. "Little Kara never wanted to make a move without you. 'This doesn't seem right', 'I need to go find Alex', 'Maybe I should talk to Alex'," he mocked with a high falsetto and flighty hands.

"You don't get to say a word about her, you piece of shit," Alex growled. "I'm sure Cat Grant already told you that you won't be getting a job anywhere around here, and I'm here to make sure you take the hint and get the hell out of this city the minute your court case is over."

"I never understood it," Tim said bitterly, "She's not even really related. She's just your little freak foster sister and she still is --"

He couldn't finish his sentence because Alex had pulled him away from the wall, driven her knee into his solar plexus and brought both fisted hands down onto his upper back. He dropped with a groan and she nudged him with her toe until he rolled over and looked up at her.

"You son of a bitch, you had better listen up. Because I will be keeping tabs on you, you fucking asshole. I don't care where you move, I will know your every move. See I work for the government now, Timmy boy, and I have all sorts of tools at my disposal and a boss who sees Kara as his daughter and hates your damn guts. You ever touch another woman in the slightest inappropriate way, and I will become your worst nightmare. You think I was protective back in high school? You have seen nothing yet."

He fell back weakly, and Alex merely stepped over him and sauntered to the mouth of the alley, where the bright sunshine took over from the shadows. She had walked half a block when a black SUV pulled up and the passenger door swung open. She raised one brow and climbed in.

"Feel better now?" J'onn asked as he pulled back into traffic.

"Much."

*****

Across town, Kara was striding into Cat's office with purpose, her latest work in her hands. Cat was sitting on one of the white sofas, laptop beside her and papers spread on the coffee table. She smiled at her fiancée as she entered.

"All done there, are you?" she asked, with carefully acted disinterest and a slight twitching at the corner of her mouth, knowing that Kara had been working on the article for several days and tearing her hair out about it - figuratively.

"Yes, finally!" Kara said happily. "What are you working on there?"

"Nothing as interesting as your article, just human resources trivialities that I really should delegate to someone else, say my assistant, but unfortunately I still haven't found one as good as you."

"Well, if you didn't fire people so often, you wouldn't need to oversee so much," Kara said with a raised eyebrow.

"Touché. But I think this is one time I'd have made an exception anyway."

Immediately, Kara knew who she was talking about.

"Tim Burrows."

"The very same," Cat replied, "now with additional reasons to fire his sorry ass, in the form of criminal charges. The DA called me and said she expects him to plead out, but it's better than nothing, though not as much as I'd like."

"Honestly Cat," Kara said as she sat down and placed a loving hand on top of Cat's, "you would have been recommending the death penalty."

"Possibly."

Kara sighed, a light sound, but easily picked up by one deeply attuned to her.

"What?"

"I suppose after all this, I should have just let you fire him way back when you wanted to," she said, sounding a bit weary.

Cat grabbed at her hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Not at all. I think things worked out much better this way."

"Better? Weeks of me acting like a complete basket case and then all the legal mess?"

"First of all, you were not acting like a basket case, you were acting like someone who was reliving a trauma and deserved so gentle handling. There's absolutely no shame in that. Secondly, it isn't a legal mess for me, just for him, and I'd say he quite deserves it."

Kara smiled a little at that and leaned over to give Cat a small kiss on the cheek.

"You always have the right words."

"Well, I didn't become Queen of all Media for nothing," Cat replied with put-on haughtiness. "But honestly, Kara, I am happy things worked out this way. You needed this. You needed to regain some of what he took from you - belief in yourself, confidence, the knowledge that you are worth defending."

"Thank you," Kara said softly.

"Don't ever thank me for telling you the truth, darling. That is what I am here for."

"Well then, thank you for being here."

"That is something I am proud and ridiculously happy to be," Cat said, ending the conversation and all talk of Tim Burrows, by closing her computer and leaning over to give Kara a not-so-chaste kiss.


End file.
